Cartier, Bottega Veneta hike Korean prices despite global luxury slowdown

Home > Business > Industry

print dictionary print

Cartier, Bottega Veneta hike Korean prices despite global luxury slowdown

A pedestrian walks by a row of luxury good stores at a department store in Seoul on Jan. 2. [YONHAP]

A pedestrian walks by a row of luxury good stores at a department store in Seoul on Jan. 2. [YONHAP]

 
Overseas luxury brands are once again hiking prices in Korea in February, despite significant slowdown in the global luxury market.
 
Customers reportedly clamored to Cartier’s stores in Seoul on Monday, and items sold out on the brand’s website, after information came out that the jeweler and watchmaker would raise its prices the following day, just two months after doing so for some of its flagship products in November.
 

Related Article

Cartier hiked the prices of its jewelry and watches in the range of 5 to 7 percent Tuesday, according to local reports. The brand’s small size of the Tanks Must watch, for instance, now costs 4.99 million won ($3,420), up 6.4 percent from the previous 4.69 million won. The Love Ring’s price rose 6.1 percent, from 1.79 million won to 1.9 million won, and those of the classic Cartier Trinity rings rose by around 6.4 percent, from 2.8 million won to 2.98 million won.
 
The French luxury manufacturer had hiked some products, including the mini size of the Tanks Must watch and the Baignoire watch, by an average of 5 percent in November, citing an increase in currency exchange rates.
 
Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta will increase the prices of popular items, including its handbags and wallets, by 5 to 10 percent starting Wednesday. French jeweler and watchmaker Fred, who appointed boy band BTS’s Jin as its first global ambassador in January, will also hike prices from Feb. 17.
 
BTS's Jin in French jewellery and watch brand Fred's campaign [FRED]

BTS's Jin in French jewellery and watch brand Fred's campaign [FRED]

 
Global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, in its State of Fashion report for 2025, projected a significant slowdown for the luxury industry worldwide, especially in its core Chinese, U.S. and European markets. To compensate for the loss in China, brands will instead pivot to focus on other Asian countries, such as Korea, Japan and India, the firm said.
 
Price hiking is a well-worn revenue-increasing strategy for luxury brands that cater to high-net-worth customers, especially in Asian markets, where consumers are less price-sensitive.
 
Brands have also cited expensive gold costs when hiking the prices of accessories. Gold prices rose by just over 26 percent in 2024 and reached a record high on Monday as fear that U.S. tariffs would cause inflation grew. Dior, for instance, raised the price of its Rose Des Vents necklace by 8 percent, from 3.7 million won to 4 million won, in January.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)